Box Score

ABILENE, Texas – Tre Lips and Stephen Derrick both blasted three-run homers Tuesday night to help McMurry to its school-record 10th consecutive win as McMurry coasted past Austin College, 11-3, in a non-conference game at Walt Driggers Field. 

The win improves McMurry to 20-12 overall and it also avenges an earlier setback this season to the Kangaroos (Austin College shut out McMurry, 3-0, on March 17 in Sherman, Texas).  The 2009 McMurry squad now holds the program's longest winning streak as Tuesday's win over Austin College pushes the 2009 McMurry team past the 1998 team that was winners of nine straight. The 2009 McMurry team will look to keep their streak rolling when they head to Brownwood on Thursday, April 9, to begin a crucial three-game American Southwest Conference West Division set with Howard Payne. 

McMurry did most of its damage against the 'Roos in the first two innings.  In the bottom of the first with no outs and two runners on, Jake Mullin helped produce the first run of the game as he nailed an RBI-double to left field, which plated Nathan Saltzgaber.  The next batter, Derrick, then blasted an opposite-field three-run homer to left field, which gave McMurry an early 4-0 lead.

McMurry carried a 4-0 lead into the second inning and blew the game wide open with another four runs in the second inning.  With no outs and two runners on, Lips crushed a three-run homer (his team-leading ninth on the year) high into the left-field netting, which made it a 7-0 game.  Mullin and Derrick then followed with back-to-back doubles, which scored Mullin and gave McMurry a commanding 8-0 lead.

After Austin College scored two runs in the third, McMurry countered with two runs in the fifth and another run in the sixth to take an overwhelming 11-2 lead.  The 'Roos finished out the scoring with one run in the ninth. 

The McMurry bats provided more than enough run support for freshman pitcher Chris Semchencko, who pitched 5.0 innings and only surrendered four hits and two earned runs to improve to 2-0 on the year.  Zach Hewitt, Jared Wallace, Trey Hellman and Colton Smith each respectively pitched one inning of relief to finish out the game for McMurry. 

The 2-3-4 hitters for McMurry finished a combined 7 for 12 at the plate with 10 of McMurry's 11 RBI (Bradd Baker had McMurry's other RBI).  Lips, who bats No. 2 in the lineup, finished the game 2 for 4 at the plate with three RBI and two runs scored (he also stole his team-leading eighth base of the year); Mullin, who bats No. 3 in the lineup, finished the game 3 for 5 (all three of his hits were doubles) with three RBI and two runs scored; and Derrick, who bats No. 4 in the lineup, finished the game 2 for 3 with a game-high four RBI and one run scored.